Chiber™ proves to be a winning solution for non-alcoholic beverage makers during Dry January and beyond

Dry January means a spike in demand for non-alcoholic (NA) beverages, but ensuring the shelf life of these increasingly sophisticated offerings can be challenging. Chinova Bioworks has the ideal solution with its clean label ingredient Chiber™ Mushroom Fiber Extract.

Before looking at the technology behind this solution and its many benefits, let’s consider the reasons why consumer interest in NA beverages is on the rise.

Consumers want healthier beverage options

With the 12th annual Dry January drawing to a close, the growing success of this event is driving interest in NA beverages, resulting in a plethora of adventurous and innovative beverage offerings. 

Rising awareness of the health risks associated with alcohol consumption is also adding to this impetus, with the World Health Organization reporting in 2023 that a growing body of medical research indicates that no amount of alcohol consumption is safe.  

Breweries and distilleries have been tapping into the opportunities arising from this momentum with the launch of beverage lines that answer consumer desire for appealing and healthier alternatives to alcoholic drinks. 

Preserving NA beverages can prove challenging

However, for producers of alcoholic beverages to make this switch, one of the biggest challenges is what type of preservative to use instead of ethanol to help maintain the longest shelf life possible. 

Because NA beverages are stored at ambient temperatures, they are vulnerable to spoilage from yeast, mold and other microorganisms, making an effective and efficient antimicrobial ingredient imperative. 

To answer this challenge, Chinova Bioworks has developed Chiber™ Mushroom Fiber Extract, a naturally-derived preservative that is designed to significantly extend the shelf life of a broad range of soft beverages, including NA beers, wines and cocktails, as well as apple juice, flavored water, alcoholic seltzer, soda and energy drinks. 

Chiber™ is derived from fiber from upcycled white button mushrooms, extracted using a patented eco-friendly process to isolate the purest of fibers that serves to significantly enhance its efficacy. It comes in a ready-to-use liquid form that is heat and shelf-stable while having no taste impact, making it a viable alternative to synthetic non-clean ingredients such as potassium sorbate.

“The science behind Chiber™ is as simple and as powerful as its source of creation—a white button mushroom,” explains Audrey Carpenter, Sales Account Manager, Chinova Bioworks.  

“Chiber™ is a fiber extracted from the stems of upcycled white button mushrooms, and has a very strong natural cationic, or positive, charge. When you add Chiber™ to a food or beverage product, it is attracted to anionic or negatively charged culprits—all types of yeast, mold and bacteria. Essentially, they are attracted like magnets, and Chiber™ then disrupts the membranes of the spoilage organisms, killing the cells and inhibiting future growth.”

Answering demands for more sustainable solutions

Sustainability is increasingly important for beverage manufacturers who need to respond to consumer demands for the most environmentally-friendly products possible. And with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic now fading into the background, concerns about pollution and environmental sustainability are once again back in the spotlight.

Chiber™ answers the need to reduce manufacturers’ environmental footprint in several ways. Two of the most significant are the upcycling of the mushroom material and the low energy requirement achieved in processing the ingredient.

Another sustainability benefit comes from the fact that Chiber™ is a viable alternative to Tunnel Pasteurization. While Tunnel Pasteurization is highly effective at sterilizing beverages, the machinery required is a big investment and it is a process that uses high levels of energy consumption, which contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. 

A highly viable alternative to Tunnel Pasteurization

When it comes to NA beers in particular, research has shown that it requires four to seven times the amount of Pasteurization Units compared to a regular 5% alcoholic beer of the same variety*, which means the rate of Tunnel Pasteurization must be dramatically increased, in turn raising costs and the environmental impact. On top of this, Tunnel Pasteurization can be flavor muting and limits the carbonation potential, while Chiber™ is color- and taste-free and has a minimal impact on the formulation process. 

The Chinova Bioworks research team has underscored the efficacy of Chiber™ by conducting an Antimicrobial Challenge Test to determine how effective the ingredient is for NA beers, compared to the conventional thermal process, Tunnel Pasteurization. The trials were based on NA beer supplied by a brewery located in Michigan, USA. 

During the test, a beer sample containing a 0.2% dose of Chiber™ was exposed to six spoilage-causing microorganisms.  Each of the six microorganisms was added to the sample at a starting inoculation of 3 Log CFU/mL. Kept at an ambient temperature over a 28-day period, the graph below shows how the microorganisms were all successfully killed off during this time. The results indicate that Chiber™ can ensure a suitable shelf life for NA beers.

Chiber™ Mushroom Extract 0.2% in NA Beer

Chiber™ Mushroom Extract 0.2% in NA Beer
Chart supplied by Chinova Bioworks.

A simple, effective and natural solution 

The Antimicrobial Challenge Test results prove that Chiber™ is a highly effective natural antimicrobial that helps manufacturers of NA beverages maximize shelf life in a convenient and cost-effective way, with the added merit of being a sustainable and clean label solution, providing a leading edge in a highly competitive and challenging space.

“Chiber™ is a unique solution for beverage manufacturers, especially those branching out of their traditional alcoholic product offerings and finding themselves in uncharted territory without ethanol's natural antimicrobial protection,” said Audrey.

“Consumers want clean labels and transparency while manufacturers want easy processing and minimal operational costs. And everyone wants safe beverages with a long shelf life. As a natural antimicrobial, Chiber™ checks all these boxes because it is easy to use and helps manufacturers avoid synthetic preservatives or Tunnel Pasteurization methods that can degrade formulations.”

*Nancy C. L'Anthoën & W. M. Ingledew (1996) Heat Resistance of Bacteria in Alcohol-Free Beer, Journal of the American Society of Brewing. Chemists, 54:1, 32-36, DOI: 10.1094/ASBCJ-54-0032